Commercially available with immediate effect, the Ricoh Ri 2000 can print onto both light and dark materials. It has a maximum printable area of 406x498mm and can handle 100% cotton, cotton blends with at least 50% cotton, and 100% light polyester up to 30mm thick.

Ricoh said the machine can print “virtually any digital image” at up to 1,200dpi onto products including t-shirts, polo shirts, face masks, hoodies, tote bags, cushion covers and many other garments and fabric accessories.

The device features a dual-carriage system, each containing four of Ricoh's own inkjet printheads. One of these carriages is allocated to print white, while the second carriage prints CMYK colours.

This setup enables users to produce printed products in ‘speed mode’ in 33 seconds, or in ‘fine mode’ in 48 seconds.

Pricing for the standard configuration Ri 2000 starts from just under £20,000.

Ricoh outlined the new machine’s features in the latest instalment of its ‘Anything in Print’ series of webinar-style events on Thursday (25 February).

Speaking during the event, Ricoh UK product marketing manager Marie Woodhead said: “When we look at the garment decoration market overall, screen printing has been the most commonly used production technology for many years.

“But things are changing; screen printing typically comes with high setup costs, it offers complex workflows often, and this technology also raises some environmental concerns.”

She added: “The rise of e-commerce is another factor which means that analogue technology is unlikely to continue to dominate the market as we move forward.

“We do believe that screen printing will remain an important technology, it will not disappear, but for certain jobs digital direct-to-garment printing is more profitable and adds more value.”

During the event, Ricoh also highlighted the recently launched Ricoh Pro L5100e large-format printer, which features an extended colour gamut with the addition of orange and green inks, as well as the Ricoh Pro TF6251 UV hybrid flatbed system.